1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a carabiner combined with at least one useful folding tool. More specifically, the invention is directed to locking or nonlocking carabiners that are used in combination with ropes by mountaineers to provide useful tools which are predominately folded into the device such as a knife, a saw, a can opener, Phillips or flat head screwdrivers, a bottle cap opener, a saw, an Allen wrench, a claw-shaped ripping hook, a pair of pliers, and a pair of scissors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carabiners are well known for their utility and safety to people engaged in mountaineering and rock climbing. Carabiners are a type of fastener used to attach rope or to restrain or restrict climbing ropes in their movement. The carabiner is generally a metallic loop made up of a body in the form of a hook or C-shaped of which the rear, the straight, and the central portions are extended by curved loops, one at the top and one at the bottom, the free ends of which are connected, to close the loop by a gate. The gate is pivotally mounted to permit passage of rope into the loop and lockable to ensure the rope remains in place in the loop.
Although conceptually not complex, carabiners have been the object of improvements by generations of experienced users to extend their utility and to improve their safety. The related art of interest will be discussed in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,909 issued on Dec. 14, 1993, to Richard S. Weiss et al. describes an openable carabiner-type handle attachment for a 6-volt battery equipped flashlight or a mug. The lock is spring-loaded and totally dissimilar in structure to the lock of the present invention. There is neither a suggestion or a teaching that a combination of folding tools can be substituted for the battery or mug to be carried.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,675 issued on Jul. 19, 1994, to Andrew McLean et al. describes a carabiner with a thumb grip. The thumb grip is attached as a fin or rib extending from the loop. A person's thumb may rest on the thumb grip, thereby contacting the loop in a particularly handy position. This allows a person to orient or feel the carabiner during use. The carabiner device is distinguishable for not including any tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,569 issued on Oct. 31, 1978, to Thomas H. Hitchcock describes an integrated universal tool comprising a crescent wrench having its handle formed in parallel rails to contain three blades which are kept from pivoting out by a sliding keeper. The middle blade is a knife with a saw tooth edge at one end, a V-shaped notch in the middle, a curved recess shear blade and a crimping pin proximate the opposite end, and a flat blade screwdriver at the opposite end. One sideward blade comprises a flat blade screwdriver at one end, a cooperating V-shaped notch for stripping sheathed wires, a crimping wire notch proximate the opposite end, and a cooperating curved shear blade at the opposite end. The other sideward blade comprises a Phillips screw-driver at one end, a crimping notch, and a curved shear blade at the opposite end. The combination tool is distinguishable for its linear construction of the slotted crescent wrench handle and a sliding keeper.
European Patent Application No. E.P.0. 0 619 167 A1 published on Mar. 19, 1994, for Carl V. Elsener, Sr. describes a Swiss folding blade knife and tool combination. The device comprises a handle into which fold a knife blade, a Phillips screwdriver, two combination bottle cap openers and flat head screwdrivers, and other elongated tools not describable. The combination knife and tool combination device is distinguishable as having a non-loop
U.S. Pat. No. 1,187,842 issued on Jun. 20, 1916, to Eilef Kaas describes a combination tool comprising a pair of detachable side flanges removable by press-buttons and containing two saws, a gimlet, a file, a button lock, a bodkin, a corkscrew, a punch, a screwdriver, a can opener, a tape measure and pointer, a knife, and a combination nail and brush hinged from an arm containing an ear spoon. The multiple tool is distinguishable for its non-loop structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,844 issued on May 25, 1993, to George C. Sessions et al. describes a pocket tool with retractable pliers jaws, cutting jaws or scissors and a pair of channel-shaped handles. The pivotally mounted ancillary tools include a knife blade, a serrated blade, a pair of scissors, a bottle opener, a pointed shaft, a flat head screwdriver, and a lanyard receiving hole. The pocket tool is distinguishable for its folding structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,340 issued on Sep. 10, 1996, to James D. Brown, Jr. describes a utility tool for making adjustments or repairs of a power chain saw. A hexagonal socket is present on the closed end of a cylindrical case member. The opposite open end has a loop and tunnels for a file, a flat head screwdriver and a pair of tweezers. A slot holds a pivoting slide member which contains other pivoting out tools such as a Phillips screwdriver, a star wrench, a flat head screwdriver, a knife blade, a second knife blade with a scooped end, and a combination wire tool with a file, a wire for cleaning oil holes, and a blunt edge for gapping sparkplugs. The utility tool is distinguishable for its pivoting slide member with tools and encased tools.
Great Britain Patent Application No. 9237 published on Aug. 29, 1896, for Rudolph Teichmann describes a combination hand tool for cyclists comprising movable jaw driven by a screw attached to a grooved handle containing the pivoting tools. The accessory tools comprise a tire valve removal tool, a file and pricker combination, an air tire lifter, a spanner, a hexagonal wrench, and a hooked pin forcer. The combination hand tool is distinguishable for lacking a loop structure.
Sweden Patent Application No. 106,956 published on Mar. 23, 1943, for P. E. J. Larsen describes a combination hand tool comprising a pair of angled jaw pliers having a cutter region and a serrated crushing region in the jaws. The pivoting tools from the opposite in the grooved handle include a saw, a knife blade, and a combination flat head screwdriver, a can opener and a bottle cap opener. The tool is distinguishable for failing to have a loop structure.
There is a need in the art of mountaineering for tools which are effective for their intended use as well as being safe and handy. Moreover, none of the above patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.